Project Irrigation Manager

 

The Project Irrigation Manager organizes and displays irrigation equipment and components, allows for adding or importing irrigation data, and controls the water source data and pipe type and data.

 

 

Project Irrigation Manager dialog box.

 

 

Source Data

 

From the Irrigation Manager select Source Data to access the data and criteria for the irrigation water source. This dialog box will determine the available flow and pressure at the Point of Connection. This dialog box needs to be accessed before sizing any mainline, so it is best to do so early in the irrigation design process.

 

Source Data dialog box with default values.

 

P.O.C.:

A project can have up to ninety nine different P.O.C.’s (Point of Connections) for the water service. Each P.O.C. can have its own unique requirements for water source criteria.

 

Water Source Flow:

There are three options for determining available water flow:

§	Water Meter Size: the GPM Available is variable depending on the percent of safe flow through the meter that the Designer indicates. 75% of the safe flow through the meter is the default percent of safe flow.

§	Point of Connection Size: the GPM Available becomes the equivalent flow through the pipe size selected at a velocity of 7.5 fps, for maximum flow potential.

§	Custom Max GPM Available: this is a Designer defined amount, as is generally used for well water.

 

Water Source Pressure:

Available water pressure is determined by:

§	Static Pressure at Service: an amount entered by the Designer to indicate the static pressure in the main line, usually based upon water source information.

§	Elevation change from Service: pressure loss for the change in elevation from the water main to the P.O.C., with a 5 foot default elevation.

§

Service Line Size and Length: pressure loss for the pipe from the water main to the P.O.C. or the water meter, usually a relatively short run of pipe, this defaults at a 20 foot length. The pressure loss calculated for this pipe is based upon a worst case scenario of Standard Steel Pipe, with a “C” factor of 1.00.

 

Pipe Data

 

From the Irrigation Manager select Pipe Data to access the data and criteria for the irrigation lateral and mainline piping. This dialog box will determine the type of pipe used for the project, and design requirements for the calculation of the pipe sizes. This dialog box needs to be accessed before sizing any lateral line and mainline, so it is often done so early in the irrigation design process.

 

Pipe Data dialog box.

 

Lateral Pipe:

These factors determine the type of pipe and the design flow characteristics that will be used to calculate the lateral line pipe sizes.

§	Lateral Line Pipe Category: various types of lateral pipe types with PVC Class 200 as the default.

§	Maximum Flow Velocity: maximum flow velocity used in calculating the friction loss and pipe sizing for lateral lines. This has a sliding bar for velocities of 1.0 fps to 8.0 fps with 5.0 fps as the default.

§

Pressure Variation Factor: variation of the Design Pressure between the first and last heads within the lateral system. This factor defines a percentage of the Design Pressure that will be the maximum variation (or difference) between any two heads, and is generally used to balance the system. This factor has a sliding bar for percent variations of between 0 and 30%, with a default of 20%.

§

Fittings/Safety Factor: percent of the total PSI loss to compensate for fitting loss, field piping variations, and factor of safety. This factor has a sliding bar for percent variations of between 0 and 20%, with a default of 10%. Thus, a 10% safety factor on a system that has a 4.3 PSI loss, will result in a total loss of 4.47 PSI.

§	Minimum Lateral Size: the minimum size pipe used in the lateral piping system, with a default of ¾”.

§

Label Minimum Size: check this box to have the minimum pipe size labeled. When this box is not checked, none of the minimum sized pipes are labeled, and a note is added to the pipe description in the Irrigation Schedule which says: “Only lateral transition pipe sizes 1” and above are indicated on the plan, with all others being ¾” in size.” (if you indicated ¾” as the minimum size.)

§	Use 1-1/4” Pipe: When this box is left unchecked, the pipe sizing function will skip 11/4” pipe, as some Designers feel it is not a large enough increase in inside diameter to justify the expense.

§	Detail: If desired, select a detail to represent the lateral line piping. This detail will be referenced in the Irrigation Schedule.

 

Mainline Pipe:

These factors determine the type of pipe and the design flow characteristics that will be used to calculate the mainline pipe sizes.

§	Mainline Pipe Category: various types of lateral pipe types with PVC Class 200 as the default.

§	Maximum Flow Velocity: maximum flow velocity used in calculating the friction loss and pipe sizing for lateral lines. This has a sliding bar for velocities of 1.0 fps to 8.0 fps with 5.0 fps as the default.

§

Fittings/Safety Factor: percent of the total PSI loss to compensate for fitting loss, field piping variations, and factor of safety. This factor has a sliding bar for percent variations of between 0 and 20%, with a default of 10%. Thus, a 10% safety factor on a system with a total of 3.5 PSI loss through the mainline will become a 3.85 total loss.

§	Minimum Mainline Size: the minimum size pipe used in the mainline piping system.

§	Detail: If desired, select a detail to represent the mainline piping. This detail will be referenced in the Irrigation Schedule.

 

F Remember: You do not add P.O.C.’s or Pipe to your project – instead use the Source Data and Pipe Data buttons to manage that information.

 

Irrigation Components

 

Adding irrigation components and to a Project allows you to quickly create a palette of equipment that will be used to build the irrigation plan. Land F/X automates the process by including a database of pressure and flow characteristics for the equipment of most major manufacturer’s of irrigation products.

 

Irrigation components are organized into four categories indicated by radio buttons at the top of the dialog box. Selecting a category will result in a list of components for that category in the dropdown list box below the categories.

 

List of components for the “Heads” category.

 

The components for each category are as follows:

Heads Turf Spray Shrub Spray Turf Rotary Shrub Rotary Bubbler Turf Rotor Shrub Rotor Turf Impact Shrub Impact Valve-in-Head Rotor

Valves Remote Control Valve Manual Control Valve Quick Coupler Valve Hose Bibb Shut Off Valve Master Valve Check Valve Air Relief Valve Drain Valve Pressure Reducing Valve

Auxiliary Equipment Controller Rain Switch Backflow Device Booster Pump Well Pump Flow Meter Flow Sensor Moisture Sensor Thrust Block Wire Bundle Central Controller

Drip Drip RCV Drip Tubing Single Outlet Emitter Multi-Outlet Emitter Drip Bubbler Drip Spray Dripline Drip Popup Flush Valve Drip Air Relief Valve Zone Control